Schoolhouse Quilters' Exhibition

It always amazes me how it takes all day to set up a quilt exhibition, but it comes down with lightning speed. There is a secret. We are indeed fortunate in Schoolhouse Quilters to have a well-organised group of women who are ably backed up by some wonderful menfolk who never let us down.




As you can see, Brookfield Hall is a very pretty heritage listed building and the perfect place to hold an exhibition. On Friday morning we were inundated with quilts arriving in their bags, a truckload of display stands, sales room items, card tables for the refreshments room and several volunteer helpers. Somehow out of all this confusion the beginnings of a quilt show started to emerge.







The piles of quilts were sorted into their appropriate sizes and from there decisions had to be made regarding where the larger quilts were to be displayed around the walls and hanging from the rafters. Then it was time to call in the heavy artillery - those unsung heroes, men with their ladders.



Once the larger quilts were in place, the smaller ones were arranged on the display stands, and the sales room was set up. The catering girls set the tables with pretty tablecloths and fresh flowers and we were ready for opening the next morning.












Despite dire threats of a rainy weekend, we had in fact the most glorious weather, worthy of late spring rather than the last two days of winter. The crowds on Saturday morning were very large and kept the girls in the sales room quite busy - so much so that I couldn't even stop to take some photos.





The exhibition was enjoyed by all who came and most people took advantage of the refreshments room or sitting outside under the marquee, renewing their strength with cups of coffee and tea and enjoying lovely sandwiches and home baked slices.












For the first time, this year we invited the local primary schools to participate in a competition to make a quilt using the theme of fire prevention, as the proceeds from our charity raffle quilt this year (see picture at the top of this post) will be going to the local bushfire brigade, a wonderful voluntary organisation which helps to keep us safe during those terrible bushfire seasons. Frankly, we were gobsmacked when the entries poured in from little children in Grade Three - 7 and 8 years of age - and this was their first attempt at making a quilt. My hat goes off to those dedicated school teachers who guided their pupils in such a way that the enthusiasm oozes out of the finished products.



This was the winning quilt (left) and my favourite (right).



The presentation of awards to the children on Sunday was such a happy event.
















Once the formalities were over, the children were shown over the fire engine parked outside the hall and were even permitted to sound off the siren - big excitement. Even some of the big kids got in on the action!





I was very pleased with the sales I made over the two days. The baby booties were snapped up fairly early and by the end of the weekend I had sold several dresses, aprons, bags, etc, with queries for some commissioned work.







I am sure there were plenty of weary bodies dragging themselves out of bed this morning, but all will agree that it was all worth the effort. We had such fun!